Anokhi Ada (1973)

My second film for Khanna O-Rama week is Anokhi Ada, while it has most of the ingredients for a great masala it doesn't quite have those 'squishy dil' moments that would make it qualify as a classic, there's enough goodness still though

Lalaji (Nazir Hussain) & Gupta (Manmohan Krishan) are best of friends as well as business partners, their kids Lalaji's son Rakesh (Jeetendra) & Gupta's daughter Neeta (Rekha) are also in love with one another (talk about keeping it all in the family)

All is well in both households until a certain man named Gopal is found unconscious by the village sea, Lalaji pays for his healthcare and nurses him back to health

When he awakes from his coma, he tells a sob story on how he has no one left in the world,Lalaji and his son Rakesh being the kind-hearted fellows they are, give him a job in the family company, in fact Rakesh is so trusting that he puts him in charge of the family business (Rakesh is clearly lazy and doesn't have time for business, all he wants to do is romance Neeta)

Gopal on the other hand is a man on a mission and its not long till he starts showing his true colours, his greed as well as his desire to gain his hands on Lalaji's property cause him to destroy Lalaji and Gupta's friendship by setting them up against one another with the help of Kushiram (Jeevan) an employee of Lalaji

Gopal's plans to destroy the entire family and gain the wealth all to himself comes under threat when Rakesh hears of his schemes, Gopal outsmarts him and before he can even make a move he orders his men to dump him in the sea

Now that Rakesh is out of the game, Gopal feels closer and is more confident of inheriting Lalaji's millions, but his plans are threatened when a Rakesh lookalike in the form of Kishan turns up, winning Lalaji's affection with Lalaji even adopting him as his own son

What schemes will Gopal come up with to ensure he ends up with the millions? Why does Kishan look so much like Rakesh, plus is Rakesh really dead? Will Lalalji & Gupta ever be friends again? Will Gopal be able to make away with the family's fortunes or will he be stopped

Anokhi Ada is a very much a product of 70's bollywood, escapist fare that's very watchable and charming but as i've said at the beginning of this post, it just doesn't have that 'squishy dil' angle that could have made it a classic, i guess the directors favoured camp entertainer rather than a message laden masala flick.

vah! great use of colour Vinod & never has a Villain looked so hot

This film made me think how versatile an actor Vinod is, I just loved him so much as the vilian here, such a stylish villain might i add, here are few of his amazing fashion statements but as i'm dissecting Vinod's fashion sensibilities in a later post i don't want to give to much away

A major fashion trend i picked out were lots of belts worn over tight t shirts complete with neckerchief (that's a styling tip for all you partygoers/clubbers who are stuck for inspiration on funky 70's bollywood outfits)

gotta love that eyeliner

As for Rekha she doesn't have much to do but she was charming and gave me the right amount of eye candy i could have wanted from her. I loved her looks in this, from her 70's style chiffon sari's to her eyeliners, she was uber cute

Like most early 70's film the feistiness the heroine lacked was made up for by a feisty Village belle played by Padma Khanna in this. Unlike most other films of the time like 'Caravan' and 'Mera Gaon mera desh' that gave the supporting actress much to do, Padma doesn't have as much screen time as i would have liked

Good soundtrack from Laxmikant Pyarelal not on the same level as some of their top soundtracks like Loafer or Nagin but there are enough goodies like the lovely romantci duet 'tere sil mein', playful 'sundari hai hai' my two favourites are 'Goom gayi Goom Gayi' with Padma Khanna in full on Village belle mode & an awesome qawalli 'Hal kya hai dilon ka'

Paisa Vasool Rating: 5/10

Ek Hi Rasta (1956)

One of my favorite directors B.R. Chopra the king of relevant social dramas in his time tackles yet another issue in Ek Hi Rasta (The Only way), this was a rather bold movie for its time i believe

Amar is a very honest employee who lives a middle class life with his wife Malti ( Meena Kuamri and son raja (Daisy Irani as a boy)

Amar works for Prakash (Ashok Kumar) a rich bachelor, he keeps pestering Prakash of when he would marry and Prakash keeps making a joke out of it

Amar catches an employee Attar Singh selling stolen goods from their factory to a customer, Amar warns him and then also reports him to Prakash

Attar Singh out of anger decides to get his own back at Amar for reporting and getting him fired from his Job, while Amar is on his way to his sons birthday on his bicycle Attar hits him with his truck


Upon her husbands death in a genius camera work, a hand wipes off Malti's bindi signifying she's now a widow

Following Amar's death Malti becomes depressed, but Prakash urges her to get back there and start making a living for herself, promising to assist her should she need any help

Biharilal (Jeevan) who was also one of the people Amar had reported to Prakash for his shady activities on the job soon starts instigating gossip that Prakash is taking advantage of Malti, soon rumours spread around the neighbourhood that both Malti & Prakash killed Amar

Prakash asks Malti to marry him to stop people from defaming them, she agrees

but life after marriage isn't so easy when Raja refuses to call Prakash father but instead calls him by name


This must have been a very bold movie for its time , as it dealt with the issue of widow remarriage, which i believe was brilliantly executed. I also liked the way complications which often arises in a new marriage was potrayed, especially on the part of the kids as in Raja's case where he finds it difficult to call Prakash 'father', i could really relate to that scene as i found myself in a similar situation with my stepfather. The only quip i have about this movie is that the killers aren't brought to justice

This film also felt a bit like a reality Tv show on a middle/upper middle class Indian family, we get to see them driving a convertible, going to the pool and they even have a dress up birthday party for their son, all of which i loved

Happy family driving a convertible

Visiting the swimming Pool

Children at the fancy dress birthday party

Happy family joined by their chef and househelp


All performances were great all round, but one performance that stood out for me was Daisy Irani who played Raja. While some kid actors usually tend to be just cute or rather annoying, Daisy was fierce, hilarious and mixed the cutesness and annoyance effectively

This kid was given some hilarious dialogues, like the scene where he makes his anger known to the maid at his mom's overfriendliness with Prakash

There was also some crazy scene where a baby was left on the tracks of an approaching train, i found the scene nailbiting



The music by Hemant Kumat is fantastic from the mellow dancy rhythms of 'Chali Gori Pi Milan se chali'

Chali Gori Pee Ke Milan Ko Chali
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and the breezy Sanwale salone where we get to see the joys of a happy family cycling down an empty road

Sanwale Salone Aaye Din Bahar Ke
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Total Score:7/10 ( An Engaging social drama)